"I'd like to thank coach (Jim) Boeheim, the coaching staff, my teammates and the amazing fans of Syracuse for the opportunity to play at a great university like Syracuse," Ennis said in the statement released by the school. "I feel this experience has helped prepare me to fulfill my lifelong dream — to play in the NBA."

Ennis finished second on the Orange in scoring at 12.9 points per game and averaged 5.5 assists to go with 1.7 turnovers, one of the top assist-to-turnover marks in the nation.

"He sat down with us and we talked about it," Ennis's father, Tony McIntyre, said Thursday. "He feels like he's in a good place in the draft. There are not too many point guards and he feels that he can be valuable to a team in this year's draft."

McIntyre said the family spoke with Boeheim before announcing the decision.

"He just said he'd be there to help Tyler in anything he needs," McIntyre said.

A native of Brampton, Ontario, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Ennis displayed an uncanny calmness for a freshman in leading the Orange to a school-record 25 wins to start the season and a No. 1 ranking for three weeks.

Ennis's 3-pointer at the buzzer beat Pittsburgh in mid-February. He took the team's last shot of the season, missing a 3 from the top of the key at the final horn in a 55-53 loss to Dayton in the third round of the NCAA tournament last Saturday night in Buffalo, N.Y. Syracuse finished 28-6.

"He did a great job here," Boeheim told The Post-Standard of Syracuse. "We're very proud of him. We'll move on."